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150th anniversary of 1st college baseball game -- Williams vs. Amherst to air LIVE on ESPN360 from Pittsfield's Wahconah Park and on tape delay on ESPN U May 4, 6 and 13

1976: captains choosing which team will bat first

Apr 07, 2009

1859 game to be re-enacted
under
'Massachusetts Rules' at 11:00 AM/
chess match between the archrivals
will also begin at 11:00 AM

PITTSFIELD, MA – The 150th anniversary celebration
of the first college baseball game between Williams College and
Amherst College will be aired live on ESPN360.com and when the two
storied rivals meet in Pittsfield's historic Wahconah Park on
Sunday, May 3rd at 1:00 PM.

ESPN U will air the game on Monday May 4th at 7:00 PM EST, again
on Tuesday May 6th at 7:00 PM and on May 13th at 12:00 AM. ESPN U
is also available on Channel 614 on DirecTV.

The nationally syndicated radio talk show – Talkin' Baseball
– hosted by Tim Donner and Phil Wood will also originate from
Wahconah Park on the day of the game. In addition, NPR's "Only A
Game," is expected to be on hand as well.

The anniversary game is the brainchild of Williams baseball alum
Michael Barbera '89 (baseball) and it came to fruition with his
involvement of Amherst grad Dan Duquette '80 (football and
baseball) in the planning and implementation of all of the
activities surrounding the event that has captured the imagination
of the City of Pittsfield and the region.

Pittsfield was the site of the first college game played on July
1, 1859 when Williams and Amherst squared off under "Massachusetts
rules" and also competed in a chess match. The chess competition
will be a part of this year's anniversary celebration as well with
the two schools facing off at Wahconah Park in three competitions
– chess, an alumni game in period uniforms donated by Nokona
and the Varsity contest.

The alumni game and chess matches will begin at 11:00 AM and the
varsity contest, which is expected to have New England Small
College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) playoff implications will
follow at 1:00 PM. Most often the winner of the annual three-game
series between Williams and Amherst has been the NESCAC West
Division champion and the West Division winner this year will host
the NESCAC Tournament.

Tickets for the 150th year anniversary game may be purchased in
advance by calling The American Defenders of New Hampshire offices
at 603-883-2255. General admission tickets are $5.00 each. Williams
and Amherst students will be admitted for free by displaying a
valid student ID.

On May 2nd the College Baseball Hall of Fame (Lubbock, TX) and the
Dan Duquette Sports Academy (Hinsdale, MA) will team up to provide
a free first class baseball clinic for local youths at Wahconah
Park at 3:00 PM. Joining the Duquette Sports Academy staff will be
one member of the College Baseball Hall of Fame to be named
later.

Amherst overcame an early 9-2 Williams lead back in 1859 and ended
up defeating Williams by the score of 73-32 in a 25-inning game.
Amherst also won the accompanying chess match.

While the baseball rivalry between Williams and Amherst began in
1859, the real rivalry commenced when some members of the Williams
community defected east to the Pioneer Valley in Massachusetts in
1818 and later founded Amherst Academy, which became Amherst
College.

322 Games have been played in this rivalry through 2008:

Amherst leads the all-time series 189-131-2

To date this century Amherst leads: 19-14

Williams leads in re-enactment games played under "Massachusetts
Rules": 2-0

1959 – 11-5
1976 – 13-12

Amherst head coach Bill Thurston is in his 44th year and is
90-34-1 vs. Ephs

Williams head coach Bill Barrale is in his 3rd year and is 4-4 vs.
Amherst

Longest Amherst win streak: 15, 1971-75

Longest Williams win streak: 9, 1896-98

Wahconah Park, which is listed as a National Historic Site, has a
rich history as evidenced by

U.S. House Resolution 1050 (June 23,
2008):

Whereas Pittsfield, Massachusetts, is the birthplace of college
baseball in the United States as it is the site of the first
intercollegiate baseball game between Amherst College and Williams
College, which took place on July 1, 1859;

Whereas in 1865, Ulysses F. `Frank' Grant, generally considered
the best African American player of the 19th century, was born in
Pittsfield, Massachusetts;

Whereas Pittsfield, Massachusetts, is the home of Wahconah Park,
an enclosed ballpark and grandstand, originally built in 1892 and
placed on the National Historic Register in June 2005;
Whereas Pittsfield, Massachusetts, is where in 1921 and 1922, the
Boston Red Sox played 2 exhibition games at Wahconah Park against
the Hillies;

Whereas Boston won the first game with a score of 10 to 9 and the
Hillies won the second with a score of 4 to 1;

Whereas in 1922, Jim Thorpe, considered one of the most versatile
athletes in modern sports, played baseball at Wahconah Park;

Whereas in 1924, Lou Gehrig made his professional debut with the
Hartford Senators at Wahconah Park, where he hit a home run into
the Housatonic River;

Whereas in 1942, future major leaguer Mark Belanger was born in
Pittsfield, Massachusetts;
Whereas on June 1, 1976, a recreation of the 1859 Williams and
Amherst collegiate baseball game took place in Pittsfield,
Massachusetts;

Whereas Pittsfield, Massachusetts, hosted a vintage baseball game
which was broadcast on national television in 2004;

Whereas Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in 2005, welcomed the
Pittsfield Dukes, a member of the New England Collegiate Baseball
League, who made their second season debut at Wahconah Park in
2005; and

Whereas on August 31, 2007, His Excellency, Deval L. Patrick,
Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, proclaimed September
5, 2007, to be Pittsfield Baseball Day in the Commonwealth:

Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the United States House of Representatives --
(1) recognizes the importance of college baseball to the Nation;
and

(2) recognizes the birthplace of college baseball as Pittsfield,
Massachusetts.